I bought a LED interior lighting kit from HighPerformanceBulb for my 2011 E91 Sport wagon and I'm having some major issues.

1. The front center dome light socket was pushed in to hard and it popped into the center dome light and I can't reach it. I need to remove the entire dome light but I don't know - does ANYONE know how to remove it (see pics)

2. The passenger map lights. I removed the frosted lens but I still cannot pull out the bulb (fat fingers?). I need to remove the entire map light - any help here would be appreciated.

Wearing nitrile gloves may help you get a better grip on the bulbs. I actually used one of the fingers from a nitrile glove as padding between needle nose pliers. Worked great, but don't squeeze too hard.

that happened to me a few months ago on the hpb kit too. the leds are miunted to a super fat board that can be a real bitch to make fit into the map lights and dome lights.

Anyway to solve the problem i didnt need a new socket. You need to remove the vanity mirrors by removing the screws that hold them. The front headliner will drop down a bit. Once that drops you will have a little bit of space to slide your hand in and take a peek.

You will then need to drop down that whole cluster gray (that houses your sunroof switches and map/dome lights), which is real easy. There are 2 long (and fairly sharp) metal tabs (they are at the front of the unit towards the windshield), give each of those a push and the unit will pop out.

Then take the little socket that popped out and inspect it, chances are the little metal shield that goes around the socket got dented and thats how it popped out. WIth a small pair of pliers, undent it, and plug it back into the unit. You will sort of have to twist it in order to get it back in, it has this odd way of holding in place..but once it goes in, its pretty solid. Anyway that's just for the front maps/domes, i didnt have the issue with the rear but it should be the same idea.

that happened to me a few months ago on the hpb kit too. the leds are miunted to a super fat board that can be a real bitch to make fit into the map lights and dome lights.

Anyway to solve the problem i didnt need a new socket. You need to remove the vanity mirrors by removing the screws that hold them. The front headliner will drop down a bit. Once that drops you will have a little bit of space to slide your hand in and take a peek.

You will then need to drop down that whole cluster gray (that houses your sunroof switches and map/dome lights), which is real easy. There are 2 long (and fairly sharp) metal tabs (they are at the front of the unit towards the windshield), give each of those a push and the unit will pop out.

Then take the little socket that popped out and inspect it, chances are the little metal shield that goes around the socket got dented and thats how it popped out. WIth a small pair of pliers, undent it, and plug it back into the unit. You will sort of have to twist it in order to get it back in, it has this odd way of holding in place..but once it goes in, its pretty solid. Anyway that's just for the front maps/domes, i didnt have the issue with the rear but it should be the same idea.

THANK YOU so much Bob! My wife is irate that its not put back together. If I have any further questions, can I PM you my phone number to talk if I run into issues?

THANK YOU so much Bob! My wife is irate that its not put back together. If I have any further questions, can I PM you my phone number to talk if I run into issues?

pm me the questions and ill do my best to get back to you asap. the only hard time i had was getting the little socket back into the unit that holds the maps/domes/switches. best way i can describe it is there is a thin sheet of metal on the socket and another on the dome unit, and you have to put the socket into the unit and twist the socket such that one sheet of metal slides under the other one and that locks them into place. there's some other pics here that show how to get the unit off http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=273231

dont go by the sunroof like they say in that tutorial, you wont have enough space and you will be on the wrong side, remove the vanity mirrors, its way easier that way and u wont damage anything.

pm me the questions and ill do my best to get back to you asap. the only hard time i had was getting the little socket back into the unit that holds the maps/domes/switches. best way i can describe it is there is a thin sheet of metal on the socket and another on the dome unit, and you have to put the socket into the unit and twist the socket such that one sheet of metal slides under the other one and that locks them into place. there's some other pics here that show how to get the unit off http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=273231

dont go by the sunroof like they say in that tutorial, you wont have enough space and you will be on the wrong side, remove the vanity mirrors, its way easier that way and u wont damage anything.

I just did LEDs a couple weeks ago such a bitch big fingers and all. I ended up using pliers to pull straight down and out the bulbs.

However tonight my hard wired detector wire came loose so I had to open up and get behind. The clips are such a bitch. Spent a few hours trying to get clips to pop open in installing the LEDs with no success despite originally installing the hardwire harness.

But then pure inspiration hit me. The clips holding the lights and panel are on the front just on the other side of the map lights if you remove the frosted cover and map light lenses you can see the silver clips through the holes.... If I could just pull them towards back of car..... So I bent a nail a quarter of an inch fished it through pulled back on clip and was looking at back of lights in thirty seconds to get in and release both clips

I just did LEDs a couple weeks ago such a bitch big fingers and all. I ended up using pliers to pull straight down and out the bulbs.

However tonight my hard wired detector wire came loose so I had to open up and get behind. The clips are such a bitch. Spent a few hours trying to get clips to pop open in installing the LEDs with no success despite originally installing the hardwire harness.

But then pure inspiration hit me. The clips holding the lights and panel are on the front just on the other side of the map lights if you remove the frosted cover and map light lenses you can see the silver clips through the holes.... If I could just pull them towards back of car..... So I bent a nail a quarter of an inch fished it through pulled back on clip and was looking at back of lights in thirty seconds to get in and release both clips

Hey Crash... thanks for the info.

Just curious, why didn't you go the route of taking off the sunvisor clips?

Can you describe this a little more and do you think its easier than taking off the sunvisor clips: "So I bent a nail a quarter of an inch fished it through pulled back on clip and was looking at back of lights in thirty seconds to get in and release both clips"

OMG!? Is it the behavior of LEDs in general or a specific brand of LEDs?
I bought my kit from HighPerformanceBulbs

That's the behavior of cheap LEDs.

I'm pretty sure I recommended the HPB kit to you a while back!

If I were you, I would try unscrewing the two retaining clips under the vanity mirrors (they're hidden under plastic flaps) and then you can put your hands at the upper windshield area and reach in to the headliner and release the tabs holding the big unit in place. For the rears, I'm sure the lights come out.

Try a similar removal method to the vanity lights for your rear lights. Push the module around a little, and gently reach around with your fingers and see if you can feel any tabs. If you find locking tabs, push the module in the opposite direction and it should remove smoothly.

Also, if you're having trouble with the headliner, PM me, and I can Skype with you to show you my removal process (granted we have different cars but it's a lot easier to troubleshoot when I can "see" the problem!)

If I were you, I would try unscrewing the two retaining clips under the vanity mirrors (they're hidden under plastic flaps) and then you can put your hands at the upper windshield area and reach in to the headliner and release the tabs holding the big unit in place. For the rears, I'm sure the lights come out.

Try a similar removal method to the vanity lights for your rear lights. Push the module around a little, and gently reach around with your fingers and see if you can feel any tabs. If you find locking tabs, push the module in the opposite direction and it should remove smoothly.

Also, if you're having trouble with the headliner, PM me, and I can Skype with you to show you my removal process (granted we have different cars but it's a lot easier to troubleshoot when I can "see" the problem!)

i got the hpb kit for my car and my cousins. The map lights dont stay on in my cousins 2009 335 while the car is running.. they will stay on for a few seconds and then shut off. From what i remember the problem is only when the car is on. The dome is hit or miss, but for the most part it works. All other lights work fine. i ended up having to order some bmw leds for his maps, those stay on but they arent anywhere near as bright..

i have the hpb kit for my e90 too, just havent installed them yet. the hpb kit is probably as good as it gets but they dont work right for everyone.

i got the hpb kit for my car and my cousins. The map lights dont stay on in my cousins 2009 335 while the car is running.. they will stay on for a few seconds and then shut off. From what i remember the problem is only when the car is on. The dome is hit or miss, but for the most part it works. All other lights work fine. i ended up having to order some bmw leds for his maps, those stay on but they arent anywhere near as bright..

i have the hpb kit for my e90 too, just havent installed them yet. the hpb kit is probably as good as it gets but they dont work right for everyone.

Have you tried replacing the ones that don't stay on from SuperBrightLeds or V-LEDS?